US agrees to release Haitian held for 2 years in asylum case

November 29, 2018

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. government has agreed to release a Haitian man who was granted asylum but has been in custody for two years because of appeals.

Judge Judith Levy disclosed the deal Thursday, a day after holding a hearing in federal court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ansly Damus is a teacher from Haiti who entered the U.S. in 2016 and sought asylum, saying his life was at risk because he criticized a political leader.

The American Civil Liberties Union says Damus has been locked up in a windowless room at a jail in Chardon, Ohio.

Levy doesn’t have a role in the asylum dispute. But the ACLU sued to try to win his release while the case is pending.

Damus will wear an ankle monitor and live with a couple in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.